Artist Statement
Zen art affects my work with Watercolor and INK. Zen paintings were highly developed in the East before it was adapted to the West. It came to the West via the explorers who used watercolor pigments for mapmaking. I am not assimilated to Zen culture and have lived in the West all my life but I learn from Zen art like the Modernists who collected Japanese prints and adapted them to their work.
I engage the media as it moves across the paper, drawing marks in INK and painting in watercolor with an economy of line and shape. Materials are important and I am attuned to nature. I draw with quills made from found bamboo, corn stalks, and sticks with sharp edges and paint with Sumi-e brushes. Color value and transparency in watercolor are created with a limited palette. The process has helped me develop my voice even further.
Plein air watercolor painting is the foundation for all my artwork and I continue doing plein air in watercolor. My work is full of passion. When my work is going well, I feel an inner sense of peace and tranquility and a great sense of accomplishment. Art in general is a healthy celebration
PRESS:
Bucks County Herald, "SFA Holiday Invitational is all about Inclusion,"
December, 2016.
The Star Ledger, In the Towns section,
Sharon Sheridan, “Peaceful Art Balances an Eventful Life,”
Thursday, October 11, 2001.
Hunterdon Review, “Ken Lockwood Gorge Inspires High Bridge Artist,”
Jon Marcin, Wednesday, September 1, 2004